Sticky element and materials and methods

ABSTRACT

A sticky element, comprising a sticky element having an insect-attracting color and an insect-attracting scent, the sticky element comprising sufficient sticky qualities to cause an insect to become permanently attached to the sticky element when any portion of the insect contacts with the sticky element, the sticky element adaptable to being disposed upon a surface. The surface may comprise a wrapping material, a flower pot cover, a flower pot, a floral arrangement, or other surface. When the sticky element is disposed on a wrapping material, the wrapping material is used to wrap a floral arrangement or decoratively cover a flower pot.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. Ser. No. 09/434,212, filedNov. 4, 1999 now abandoned, which is a continuation of Ser. No.09/009,994, filed Jan. 21, 1998, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,003,285, issuedDec. 21, 1999, which is a continuation of U.S. Ser. No. 08/586,043,filed Jan. 16, 1996, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,713,183, issued Feb. 3, 1998,which is a continuation of filed Jul. 29, 1994, now U.S. Pat. No.5,517,802, issued May 21, 1996, which is a continuation of Ser. No.07/895,954, filed Jun. 9, 1992, now abandoned, which is acontinuation-in-part of Ser. No. 07/707,417, filed May 28, 1991, nowabandoned.

This invention relates to sticky elements upon which insects adhere, andparticularly, surfaces and materials having a sticky element upon whichinsect adhere, and methods of using same.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the sheet of material of the presentinvention, showing the upper surface, the sticky element design beingdisposed thereon.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a plurality of sheets of materialconstructed in accordance with the present invention forming acontinuous roll of material.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a plurality of sheets of materialconstructed in accordance with the present invention forming acontinuous roll, showing one sheet of material partially detached.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a plurality of sheets of materialconstructed in accordance with the present invention forming acontinuous roll of material disposed in a dispenser, showing one sheetof material partially detached.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of another embodiment of the sheet ofmaterial of the present invention, showing the upper surface, the stickyelement being disposed upon the upper surface.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of another embodiment of the sheet ofmaterial of the present invention, showing the sticky element disposedon the upper surface of the sheet of material.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the sheet of material of the presentinvention, showing the method of disposing a flower pot on the sheet ofmaterial.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the sheet of material of the presentinvention, showing the method of wrapping the sheet of material about aflower pot.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the sheet of material of the presentinvention wrapped about a flower pot.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the flower pot utilized in the presentinvention, showing a sticky element disposed on the flower pot.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of the sheet of material of the presentinvention, showing the sheet of material pre-formed into the shape of aflower pot cover, a sticky element disposed thereon.

FIG. 12 is a perspective view of the method of the present invention,showing a flower pot being disposed on a pre-formed flower pot covermolded from the sheet of material.

FIG. 13 is a perspective view of a flower pot covered by a pre-formedflower pot cover molded from the sheet of material.

FIG. 14 is a perspective view of a sheet of material of the presentinvention, showing a floral arrangement disposed on the sheet ofmaterial.

FIG. 15 is a side view of the floral arrangement disposed on the sheetof material of FIG. 14.

FIG. 16 is a perspective view of the floral arrangement being wrapped.

FIG. 17 is a perspective view of the floral arrangement wrapped.

FIG. 18 is a front plan representation of a sticky element beingdisposed on a surface.

FIG. 19 is a front plan representation of a sticky element disposed on asurface.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

One drawback of sending fresh flowers, a floral arrangement (with orwithout a container), or a potted plant is the tendency for insects tobe present upon the fresh flowers, floral arrangement, or potted plant.Not infrequently after one of the foregoing items has been received,insects crawl from it across the decorative wrapping material wrappedabout the item, into the recipient's home, office, or hospital room.Obviously, this type of insect infestation is undesirable.

The present invention contemplates a sticky element, which is disposedupon a wrapping material for wrapping the above-defined items, includingpre-formed flower pot covers, the sticky element having sufficientsticky properties to cause insects which contact the sticky element tobecome permanently attached thereto. Such a sticky element has aninsect-attracting color and an insect-attracting scent. The stickyelement may comprise an insecticide as well.

The wrapping material of the present invention has disposed upon atleast one surface of the wrapping material the sticky element describedherein. Therefore, when insects crawl from an item onto the wrappingmaterial of the claimed invention, the insects become attached to thesticky element on the wrapping material, and therefore cannot infest therecipient's home, office, or hospital room. The sticky element prevents,or greatly reduces, the previously described undesirable disadvantagesof receiving fresh flowers, floral arrangements, or potted plants.

The Embodiments of FIGS. 1-4

Referring to FIG. 1, designated generally by the reference numeral 10 isa wrapping material which is constructed in accordance with the presentinvention. The wrapping material 10 comprises at least one sheet ofmaterial 12. The sheet of material 12 has an upper surface 14, a lowersurface 16, and an outer periphery 18 (an edge of which is lifted forillustration purposes only). As shown in FIG. 1, the outer periphery 18of the sheet of material 12 comprises a first side 20, a second side 22,a third side 24, and fourth side 26. A sticky element 28 is disposed onat least one surface of the sheet of material 12, as will be describedin further detail below.

The sheet of material 12 is utilized to wrap a flower pot 30 a (FIG. 7).The term “flower pot” refers to any type of container used for holding afloral arrangement or a potted plant. The flower pot 30 a comprises anouter surface 32 a and an inner surface 34 a.

The sheet of material 12 is also used to wrap about a floral arrangement36 c (FIG. 14). “Floral arrangement” as used herein means cut freshflowers, artificial flowers, other fresh and/or artificial plants orother floral materials and may include other secondary plants and/orornamentation which add to the aesthetics of the overall floralarrangement 36 c. The floral arrangement 36 c comprises a bloom orfoliage portion, also referred to herein as a top portion, 38 c and astem portion, also referred herein as a bottom portion 40 c. However, itwill be appreciated that the bloom or foliage portion 38 c of floralarrangement 36 c may consist of only a single bloom or only foliage (notshown). In the embodiment of FIG. 1, the sheet of material 12 is square.It will be appreciated, however, that any shape or size of sheet ofmaterial 12 may be used to wrap a flower pot 30 a or a floralarrangement 36 c as long as it is sufficiently sized and shaped to wrapand encompass the flower pot 30 a or floral arrangement 36 c. Forexample, the sheet of material 12 may also comprise other shapes, i.e.,rectangular, round, oval, octagonal, asymmetrical, or the like. Andmultiple sheets of material 12 may be used. Moreover, when multiplesheets of material 12 are used in combination, the sheets of material 12need not be uniform in size or shape. Finally, it will be appreciatedthat the sheet of material 12 shown in all embodiments herein issubstantially flat.

The sheet of material 12 may be constructed of a single sheet ofmaterial 12 or a plurality of sheets of material 12. Any thickness ofthe sheet of material 12 may be utilized in accordance with the presentinvention as long as the sheet of material 12 may be wrapped about atleast a portion of a flower pot 30 a or a floral arrangement 36 c, asdescribed herein. The sheet of material 12 has a thickness in a range offrom about 1 mil to about 30 mils. Typically, the sheet of material 12has a thickness in a range of from about 0.2 mil to about 30 mils. In apreferred embodiment, the sheet of material 12 is constructed from onesheet of man-made organic polymer film having a thickness in a range offrom about 0.5 mil to about 2.5 mils.

The sheet of material 12 is constructed from any suitable material thatis capable of being wrapped about a flower pot 30 a or floralarrangement 36 c. Preferably, the wrapping material 10 comprises paper(untreated or treated in any manner), cellophane, foil, man-made organicpolymer film, fabric (woven or nonwoven or synthetic or natural),burlap, or combinations thereof.

The term “man-made organic polymer film” means a man-made resin such asa polypropylene as opposed to naturally occurring resins such ascellophane. A man-made organic polymer film is relatively strong and notas subject to tearing (substantially non-tearable), as might be the casewith paper or foil. The man-made organic polymer film is a substantiallylinearly linked processed organic polymer film and is a synthetic linearchain organic polymer where the carbon atoms are substantially linearlylinked. Such films are synthetic polymers formed or synthesized frommonomers. Further, a relatively substantially linearly linked processedorganic polymer film is virtually waterproof which may be desirable inmany applications such as wrapping a floral arrangement.

Additionally, a relatively thin film of substantially linearly linkedprocessed organic polymer does not substantially deteriorate insunlight. Processed organic polymer films having carbon atoms bothlinearly linked and cross linked, and some cross linked polymer films,also may be suitable for use in the present invention provided suchfilms are substantially flexible and can be made in a sheet-like formatfor wrapping purposes consistent with the present invention. Forexample, one such man-made organic polymer film is a polypropylene film.

The sheet of material 12 may vary in color. Further, the sheet ofmaterial 12 may consist of designs which are printed, etched, and/orembossed thereon; in addition, the sheet of material 12 may have variouscolorings, coatings, flocking and/or metallic finishes, or becharacterized totally or partially by pearlescent, translucent,transparent, iridescent or the like, qualities. Each of the above-namedcharacteristics may occur alone or in combination. Moreover, eachsurface of the sheet of material 12 may vary in the combination of suchcharacteristics.

The sheet of material 12 has a width 42 (FIG. 1) extending generallybetween the first side 20 and the second side 22, respectively,sufficiently sized whereby the sheet of material 12 can be wrapped aboutand encompass a floral arrangement 36 c. The sheet of material 12 has alength 44 (FIG. 1) extending generally between the third side 24 and thefourth side 26, respectively, sufficiently sized whereby the sheet ofmaterial 12 extends over a substantial portion of the floral arrangement36 c when the sheet of material 12 has been wrapped about the floralarrangement 36 c in accordance with the present invention, as describedin detail below.

The sheet of material 12 may be wrapped about the flower pot 30 a tosubstantially wrap and cover the flower pot 30 a in accordance with thepresent invention. The sheet of material 12 may also comprise apre-formed flower pot cover, as illustrated in FIG. 11.

Referring now to FIG. 1, the sticky element 28 is disposed upon thesheet of material 12, preferably on the upper surface 14 of the sheet ofmaterial 12. The sticky element 28 substantially covers the uppersurface 14 of the sheet of material 12. Alternatively, the stickyelement 28 could be applied only to the lower surface 16 of the sheet ofmaterial 12, the sticky element 28 could be applied to both the uppersurface 14 and the lower surface 16 of the sheet of material 12, or thesticky element 28 could be disposed upon only selected portions of thesheet of material 12, as described below. “Sticky element”, as usedherein, means any adhesive, or any adhesive/cohesive combination, havingsticky qualities (i.e., qualities of adhesion or adhesion/cohesion,respectively) sufficient to cause the attachment an insect to the stickyelement 28 when the insect contacts the sticky element 28. “Stickyqualities” means sufficient adhesion, or adhesion/cohesion, respectively(adhesion when an adhesive is used; adhesion/cohesion when anyadhesive/cohesive combination is used), to cause the permanentattachment of an insect to the sheet of material 12 whenever an insectcontacts, in any manner, the sticky element 28. Since the sticky element28 may comprise either an adhesive or an adhesive/cohesive combination,it will be appreciated that both adhesives and cohesives are known inthe art, and both are commercially available. For example, a preferredsticky element 28 (an adhesive) is available from Whitmire ResearchLaboratories, Inc., St. Louis, Mo.

The sticky element 28 may also comprise an antimicrobial agent.“Antimicrobial Agent,” as used herein, means an agent possessingantifungal and/or antibacterial and/or known antimicrobial properties. Acomplete disclosure of such antimicrobial agents is contained withinU.S. Ser. No. 07/538,293, filed Jun. 14, 1990, entitled AntimicrobialMaterials and Methods which is hereby incorporated by reference into thepresent application.

The sticky element 28 comprises a liquid, a gas, a solid, a semi-solid,or any combination thereof. The sticky element 28 may be disposed upon asurface of the sheet of material 28 by spraying, painting, brushing,lacquering, immersing a surface of the sheet of material 12 in thesticky element 28, exposing a surface of the sheet of material 12 tosticky element-containing gas, rubbing the sticky element 28 thereupon,or any combination thereof. In a preferred embodiment, the stickyelement 28 is contained within an aerosol or pump spray container, andthe sticky element 28 is sprayed upon a surface of the sheet of material12.

The sticky element 28 may be disposed upon a surface of the sheet ofmaterial 12 during the process of manufacturing the sheet of material12, or immediately after the sheet of material 12 has been manufactured,by any method described herein. Alternatively, the sticky element 28 maybe disposed upon the sheet of material 12 just prior to the use of thesheet of material 12 to wrap a floral arrangement 36 c, or todecoratively cover a flower pot 30 a.

The sticky element 28 is disposed on a surface 46, for example, doors(one such door shown in FIGS. 18-19), walls, ceilings, tables, trays,counter tops, floors, windows, lights, light fixtures, furniture,appliances, any other suitable surfaces, or any combination thereof. Thesurface 46 may also comprise a flower pot 30 a, or a floral arrangement36 c. Further, the surface 46 may comprise a flower pot cover formedfrom a sheet of material 12, a wrapping material 10 comprising a sheetof material 12 used to wrap a floral arrangement 36 c, or anycombination thereof.

Preferably, the sticky element 28 comprises an insect attracting color.That is, the sticky element 28 comprises one or more colors, to attractinsects. Ink, dye, pigment, or any combination thereof can be mixed withthe sticky element 28, to create a colored sticky element 28. “Color” asdefined herein means any color, combination of colors, mixture ofcolors, no color, or any combination thereof. Examples of such colorsinclude blue, purple, green, yellow, red, orange, pink, colorless,white, black, gray brown, or any combination thereof. The above definedcolors may be utilized alone, or in any combination.

The colored sticky element 28 may also comprise a “spot” or a tabattached to the sheet of material 12. Such a spot or tab designates anedge of the sheet of material 12, so that when a sheet of material 12 isremoved from a surface or from being wrapped about an item (a floralarrangement 36 c) an operator can easily identify the outer periphery 18of the sheet of material 12 by the spot or tab, and thus lift the outerperiphery 18 of the sheet of material 12 at the spot or tab, to removethe sheet of material 12 from a surface of an item.

The sticky element 28 further comprises, in a preferred embodiment, aninsect attracting scent. “Insect attracting scents” as used herein meansany scent or combination of scents that are known to attract insects.Examples of such scents include flowers, plants (such as fruits andvegetables), foods (for example, breads, cereals, candies), grasses,food condiments (such as honey, sugar, salt), herbs, spices, woods,roots, and the like. Such scents are known in the art, and arecommercially available.

An insecticide may also be mixed with the sticky element 28. It will beappreciated that insecticides are also well-known in the art, andcommercially available.

The sticky element 28 is disposed upon at least one surface of the sheetof material 12. Any thickness of the sticky element 28 may be disposedupon a surface of the sheet of material 12 in accordance with thepresent invention as long as the sticky element 28 functions asdescribed herein. The sticky element 28, when disposed upon the sheet ofmaterial 12, has a thickness in a range from about 1 mil to about 30mils. Typically, the sticky element 28 has a thickness in a range offrom about 0.2 mil to about 30 mils. In a preferred embodiment, thesticky element 28 is disposed upon one surface of the sheet of material12 comprising man-made organic polymer film, the adhesive having athickness in a range of from about 0.5 mil to about 2.5 mils.

The sticky element 28 may comprise at least a portion of the decorationon the sheet of material 12. That is, any geometric, nongeometric,asymmetrical, or fanciful design (“design” as used herein means“decoration”) on the sheet of material 12 may comprise, at least inpart, a sticky element 28. The sticky element 28, when disposed upon thesheet of material 12, may comprise a non-geometric, asymmetrical orfanciful design, or a portion of a design, such as flowers, lace,hearts, ribbons, slogans, logos, and/or any series of letters and/ornumbers, and the like (not shown), or any geometric form, for example,triangles, rectangles, octagonals, or the square, illustrated in FIG. 1(the foregoing designs hereinafter collectively referred to as “spot” or“spots” of sticky element 28).

It will be appreciated, however, that the sticky element 28 may compriseone “spot” of sticky element 28, or a plurality of “spots” of stickyelement 28, spread substantially over at least the upper surface 14 ofthe sheet of material 12, as long as the plurality of spots of stickyelements 28 create a continuous area of sticky element 28 near theentire outer periphery 18 of the sheet of material 12, in order toprevent any crawling insects from avoiding contact with the stickyelement 28.

A release sheet 48 may also be applied to the sticky element 28 after itis disposed on a surface of the sheet of material 12, to protect thesticky qualities of the sticky element 28. One such release sheet 48 isshown in FIG. 4. The release sheet 48 has an upper surface 50, a lowersurface 52, and an outer periphery 54.

The wrapping material 10 may comprise separate sheets of material 12(not shown), or the wrapping material 10 may comprise a plurality ofsheets of material 12 connected together to form a roll 56, as shown inFIGS. 2-4. Preferably, the plurality of sheets of material 12 in theroll 56 are detachable by perforations 21, as illustrated in FIG. 3.Such a roll 56 permits one sheet of material 12 to be withdrawn from theroll 56 (one sheet of material 12 shown partially detached, forillustration purposes only), the sheet of material 12 being severed fromthe roll 56. Alternatively, the roll 56 may simply be formed as acontinuous roll 56 of wrapping material 10 without perforations, whereina plurality of sheets of material 12 may be withdrawn from the roll 56by unrolling a portion of the wrapping material 10 from the roll 56, andusing a separate cutting element (not shown) to sever the unrolledportion of the wrapping material 10 from the roll 56 to form the sheetof material 12 (FIG. 4). The roll 56 may also be contained within adispenser 58, as illustrated in FIG. 4. When the roll 56 is disposed inthe dispenser 58, a portion of the wrapping material 10 is againunrolled, and a serrated cutting edge (not shown) contained within thedispenser 58, or a separate cutting element (not shown) severs theunrolled portion of the wrapping material 10 from the roll 56 to form asheet of material 12. Any number of sheets of material 12 may form theroll 56 as long as it is possible to withdraw at least one sheet ofmaterial 12 from the roll 56 as described herein. A release sheet 48 maycover a surface of a single sheet of material 12, or all of the wrappingmaterial 10 contained within the roll 56, as shown in FIG. 4. It will beappreciated that the release sheet 48 covers a surface of the sheet ofmaterial 12 having sticky elements 28 thereon to protect the stickyqualities of the sticky elements 28, and when a sheet of material 12 issevered from the roll 56, the release sheet 48 is simultaneously alsosevered from the roll 56. The release sheet 48 is releasably removedfrom the sheet of material 12 (shown for illustration purposes only)before the sheet of material 12 is disposed upon a flower pot 30 a orwrapped about a floral arrangement 36 c.

The Embodiment and Method of FIGS. 5-9

FIGS. 5-9 illustrate another embodiment and method of use of the presentinvention. The sheet of material 12 a used in this method is constructedexactly the same as the sheet of material 12 shown in FIG. 1, exceptthat the sticky element 28 a is shown being disposed thereon in FIG. 5.

After the sheet of material 12 a is withdrawn and detached from the roll56 (not shown) by any means described herein, an operator disposes thesheet of material 12 a on a relatively horizontal surface (not shown),the lower surface 16 a of the sheet of material 12 a contacting thehorizontal surface. Next, the operator disposes the sticky element 28 aupon the upper surface 14 a of the sheet of material 12 a, by any meansdescribed herein (for example, spraying the sticky element 28 a thereon,as shown in FIG. 5), wherein the sticky element 28 a substantiallycovers the upper surface 14 a of the sheet of material 12 a (FIG. 6). Asshown in FIG. 7, a flower pot 30 a is then provided, and the operatordisposes the flower pot 30 a on the upper surface 14 a of the sheet ofmaterial 12 a, and upon the sticky element 28 a. As shown in FIGS. 8 and9, the sheet of material 12 a is then wrapped around the flower pot 30 aby being formed and molded upward around the flower pot 30 a by theoperator, the upper surface 14 a and the sticky element 28 a thereoncontacting the outer surface 32 a of the flower pot 30 a, whereby thesheet of material 12 a formed about the flower pot 30 a and the sheet ofmaterial 12 a substantially surrounds and covers the flower pot 30 a,wherein said sticky element 28 a on a surface of the sheet of material12 a effectively causes a permanent attachment of an insect thereto whenany portion of the insect contacts the sticky element 28 a. It will beappreciated, however, that the sheet of material 12 a may be pre-formed,by hand or by any means known in the art, before the sheet of material12 a is disposed about the flower pot 30 a. Therefore, alternatively,the flower pot 30 a may be inserted into a pre-formed flower pot coverconstructed from the sheet of material 12 a, the pre-formed flower potcover substantially surrounding and covering the flower pot 30 a, aspreviously described.

The Embodiment and Method of FIGS. 10-13

In an alternative embodiment shown in FIGS. 10-13, a flower pot 30 bhaving a sticky element 28 b disposed thereon is provided. The stickyelement 28 b is disposed, by any method described herein, on the outersurface 32 b of a flower pot 30 b. A sheet of material 12 b as shown inFIG. 11 and, which is constructed exactly the same as the sheet ofmaterial 12 shown in FIG. 1, is also provided. The sticky element 28 bis disposed by any method described herein on the upper surface 14 b ofthe sheet of material 12 b, which is preformed into a flower pot cover60. The sticky element 28 b can be covered by a release sheet (notshown), the release sheet being removed by the operator prior to thepre-formed flower pot cover 60 being disposed about the flower pot 30 b.The operator disposes the pre-formed flower pot cover 60 on a relativelyhorizontal surface (not shown). The operator then takes the flower pot30 b and inserts the flower pot 30 b into an opening 62 provided in thepre-formed flower pot cover 60 to receive the flower pot 30 b, the uppersurface 14 b of the sheet of material 12 b and the sticky element 28 bthereon adjacent to and contactingly engaging the outer surface 32 b ofthe flower pot 30 b and the sticky element 28 b thereon, the sheet ofmaterial 12 b substantially surrounding and covering the outer surface32 b of the flower pot 30 b, wherein the sticky elements 28 b on theflower pot 30 b and the flower pot cover 60, respectively, effectivelycause a permanent attachment of an insect thereto when any portion ofthe insect contacts the sticky elements 12 b.

In an alternative embodiment, the flower pot 30 b has a sticky element28 b disposed thereon (FIG. 10), and the flower pot 30 b issubstantially wrapped by a sheet of material 12 b (not shown) having nosticky element 28 b thereon. The flower pot 30 b is wrapped by anymethod described herein.

When the sheet of material 12 b covers the flower pot 30 b in thepreviously described methods, any insect crawling from the flower pot 30b contacts either the sticky element 28 b disposed on the outer surface32 b of the flower pot 30 b, or the sticky element 28 b disposed on theupper surface 14 b of the sheet of material 12 b, and becomespermanently adhered thereto.

It will also be appreciated that a floral arrangement, such as thefloral arrangement 36 c may also have a sticky element 28 disposedthereon by any method described herein, and be wrapped by a sheet ofmaterial 12 having a sticky element 28 on a surface thereof, the stickyelement 28 on, for instance, the upper surface 14 of the sheet ofmaterial 12 at least partially contacting the sticky element 28 on thefloral arrangement 36 c by any method described herein, the sheet ofmaterial 12 substantially wrapping and encompassing the floralarrangement 36 c wherein any insect which contacts either the stickyelement 28 on the floral arrangement 36 c or the sticky element 28 onthe sheet of material 12 becomes permanently adhered to either or bothsticky elements 28. Similarly, it will be appreciated that a surface,for example, a floral arrangement 36 c, or any other surface describedherein, having a sticky element 28 thereon, may be wrapped and/orsubstantially covered by any method described herein by a sheet ofmaterial 12 which has no sticky element 28 thereon.

The Embodiment and Method of FIGS. 14-17

FIGS. 14-17 illustrate another method of use of the present invention.The sheet of material 12 c, which is constructed exactly the same as thesheet of material 12 shown in FIG. 1, is provided. An operator disposesthe sheet of material 12 c on a relatively horizontal surface (notshown), the lower surface 16 c of the sheet of material 12 c contactingthe surface, and the upper surface 14 c of the sheet of material 12 csubstantially covered by the sticky element 28 c. Next, the operatordisposes a floral arrangement 36 c on the upper surface 14 c of thesheet of material 12 c and the sticky element 28 c thereon, preferablynear the center of the sheet of material 12 c. As shown in FIG. 14, theportion of the floral arrangement 36 c not touching the sheet ofmaterial 12 c is the top portion 38 c, and the portion of the floralarrangement touching the sheet of material 12 c is the bottom portion 40c of the floral arrangement 36 c. Referring to FIGS. 15-17, the sheet ofmaterial 12 c is then wrapped about the floral arrangement 36 c by theoperator, the operator overlapping a portion of the sheet of material 12c over another portion of the sheet of material 12 c. That is, forexample, the operator places the second side 22 c of the sheet ofmaterial 12 c over the top portion 38 c of the floral arrangement 36 c,the bottom portion 40 c of the floral arrangement 36 c lying against andcontacting the sheet of material 12 c, then the operator places thefirst side 20 c of the sheet of material 12 c over the second side 22 cof the sheet of material 12 c, the first side overlapping portions ofthe sheet of material 12 c by contacting the sticky element 28 c thereonon the overlapping portion of the sheet of material 12 c (near thesecond side 22 c) with a corresponding adjacent portion of the sheet ofmaterial 12 c (near the first side 20 c), wherein both the top portion38 c and the bottom portion 40 c of the floral arrangement 36 c aresubstantially encompassed by the sheet of material 12 c, and wherein thesticky element 28 c on the sheet of material 12 c contacts both itselfand portions of the floral arrangement 36 c to substantially encompassand surround a substantial portion of the floral arrangement 36 c. Itwill be appreciated that the sticky qualities of the sticky element 28 cwill cause insects which contact the sticky element 28 c to becomepermanently attached thereto.

The Embodiment and Method of FIGS. 18-19

In a final alternative method of use, as illustrated in FIGS. 18-19, thesticky element 28 d may be disposed on any surface 46 defined herein,one such surface 46 (a door) shown in FIGS. 18-19. The sticky element 28d may be disposed (by any method described herein) on such surface 46,to substantially cover the surface 46 and to cause insects which contactthe sticky element 28 d to become permanently attached thereto.

Changes may be made in the embodiments of the invention described hereinor in parts or elements of the embodiments described herein or in thesteps or in the sequences of steps of the methods described hereinwithout departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as definedin the following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of disposing a flower pot cover on aflower pot, comprising: providing a flower pot cover suitable fordisposing on a flower pot, the flower pot cover formed from a sheet ofmaterial having an upper surface, a lower surface, and an outerperiphery, the flower pot cover having a sticky element disposed upon asurface thereof, the sticky element having an insect-attracting colorand an insect-attracting scent, the sticky element comprising sufficientsticky qualities to cause an insect to become permanently attached tothe sticky element when any portion of the insect comes into contactwith the sticky element; providing a flower pot; and inserting theflower pot into the flower pot cover, wherein the flower pot contactsthe surface of the flower pot cover having the sticky element thereon,the flower pot cover substantially surrounding and covering an outersurface of the flower pot, and wherein said sticky element on thesurface of the flower pot cover effectively causes a permanentattachment of an insect thereto when any portion of the insect contactsthe sticky element.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein, in the step ofproviding a flower pot cover, the sheet of material from which theflower pot cover is formed is selected from the group consisting ofpaper, foil, man-made organic polymer film, cellophane, fabric, burlap,and any combination thereof.
 3. A method of disposing a sheet ofmaterial on a flower pot, comprising the steps of: providing a sheet ofmaterial having an upper surface, a lower surface and an outerperiphery; providing a sticky element having an element selected fromthe group consisting of a scent, an insecticide and any combinationthereof; providing a flower pot having an outer surface; wrapping thesheet of material about the outer surface of the flower pot, the sheetof material substantially surrounding and covering the outer surface ofthe flower pot, thereby forming a wrapping material; disposing thesticky element on at least a portion of the wrapping material; andpositioning at least a portion of the wrapping material such that thesticky element thereon is exposed.
 4. The method of claim 3 wherein, inthe step of providing a sheet of material, the sheet of material isselected from the group consisting of paper, cellophane, foil, man-madeorganic polymer film, fabric, burlap, and any combination thereof. 5.The method of claim 3 wherein, in the step of providing a sheet ofmaterial, the sheet of material further comprises a scent.
 6. The methodof claim 3 wherein, in the step of providing a sheet of material, thesheet of material further comprises a color.
 7. The method of claim 3wherein, in the step of providing a sheet of material, the sheet ofmaterial further comprises an insecticide.
 8. The method of claim 3wherein, in the step of providing a sticky element, the sticky elementfurther comprises an adhesive.
 9. A method of disposing a sheet ofmaterial on a flower pot, comprising the steps of: providing a sheet ofmaterial having an upper surface, a lower surface and an outerperiphery; providing a sticky element having an element selected fromthe group consisting of a scent, an insecticide and any combinationthereof; providing a flower pot having an outer surface; wrapping thesheet of material about the outer surface of the flower pot, the sheetof material substantially surrounding and covering the outer surface ofthe flower pot, at least a portion of the sheet of material having a tabattached thereto; disposing the sticky element on at least a portion ofthe tab; and positioning the tab such that the sticky element thereon isexposed.
 10. The method of claim 9 wherein, in the step of providing asheet of material, the sheet of material is selected from the groupconsisting of paper, cellophane, foil, polymer film, fabric, burlap, andany combination thereof.
 11. A method of disposing a sheet of materialon a flower pot, comprising the steps of: providing a sheet of materialhaving an upper surface, a lower surface and an outer periphery;providing a sticky element having an element selected from the groupconsisting of a scent, an insecticide and any combination thereof;providing a flower pot having an outer surface; wrapping the sheet ofmaterial about the outer surface of the flower pot, the sheet ofmaterial substantially surrounding and covering the outer surface of theflower pot, thereby forming a wrapping material; disposing the stickyelement on at least a portion of the wrapping material; and positioningat least a portion of the wrapping material such that the sticky elementthereon is exposed.
 12. The method of claim 11 wherein, in the step ofproviding a sheet of material, the sheet of material is selected fromthe group consisting of paper, cellophane, foil, man-made organicpolymer film, fabric, burlap, and any combination thereof.
 13. A methodof disposing a sheet of material on a flower pot, comprising the stepsof: providing a sheet of material having an upper surface, a lowersurface and an outer periphery; providing a sticky element having anelement selected from the group consisting of a scent, an insecticideand any combination thereof; providing a flower pot having an outersurface; wrapping the sheet of material about the outer surface of theflower pot, the sheet of material substantially surrounding and coveringthe outer surface of the flower pot, at least a portion of the sheet ofmaterial having a tab attached thereto; disposing the sticky element onat least a portion of the tab; and positioning the tab such that thesticky element thereon is exposed.
 14. The method of claim 13 wherein,in the step of providing a sheet of material, the sheet of material isselected from the group consisting of paper, cellophane, foil, polymerfilm, fabric, burlap, and any combination thereof.